SCULPTURAL MOVEMENT: CLIMBABLE LANDMARKS FOR PUBLIC SPACES

As expectations of public space evolve, designers are increasingly seeking infrastructure that delivers more than activity alone. Spaces are expected to support movement, and promote social interaction while contributing to the overall spatial language of a site.

ICONS® by BOULDERING® explores the intersection of sculpture and movement, translating conceptual forms into climbable public structures.

Rather than enclosing space, ICONS® structures invite interaction directly across their external form. This maintains open visibility and clear sightlines, supporting confident public use while simplifying supervision and long-term asset management. The result is a movement environment operating as both active infrastructure and sculptural landmark. Importantly, each ICONS® structure functions as a true BOULDERING® system, incorporating route setting, climbing holds and movement pathways to support meaningful, repeatable use.

Each project begins with an idea, often emerging from local ecology, landscape character or cultural narrative. Early sketches explore scale and movement before progressing through digital modelling, structural engineering and in-house fabrication.

Design, engineering and manufacturing are integrated within Industrial by Nature’s Melbourne facility, allowing sculptural intent and structural performance to develop together. This ensures ambitious forms are resolved as durable, standards-compliant public assets suited to high-use environments. Working with delivery partners, projects are realised across Australia and internationally, maintaining consistency from concept through to installation.

A recent project in Western Australia demonstrates how this process translates from concept to place. The Rakali structure, inspired by native wildlife and developed for its coastal setting, combines sculptural identity with functional climbing routes, providing a visible movement landmark that remains robust, accessible and adaptable to everyday use.

ICONS® reflects a broader shift toward site-responsive active infrastructure, contributing to the narrative and character of a landscape while encouraging engagement across age groups.

Each structure can begin from first sketch, allowing designers to explore forms shaped by ecology, culture or abstract geometry. From concept through engineering and fabrication, the process remains closely integrated, enabling ideas to evolve into buildable structures without compromising design ambition.

Developed by the same team behind BOULDERING®, ICONS® extends this approach into more expressive, sculptural territory. Each project is shaped through an in-house process, supported by a proprietary structural system refined through years of application, enabling complex forms to be realised with clarity and intent.

This results in a level of detail and finish that reflects precision and craft, where each structure carries a distinct identity while remaining grounded in performance. ICONS® combines functional movement infrastructure with a more expressive, site-specific design language.

Working with project teams and delivery partners, ICONS® structures are realised in diverse contexts, from local community spaces to international projects, each tailored to site while maintaining a consistent standard of design, engineering and build quality.

Each project is inherently site-specific. ICONS® structures are developed in response to place, brief and context, working with designers, councils and project teams to explore what is possible.

If you’re considering how movement, identity and form can come together within a project, the team welcome the opportunity to collaborate and develop a tailored solution.

For more information, visit Industrial by Nature via the links below